


Countlessly They Congregate

by starfleetdicks



Series: McSpirkHolidayFest Prompt Fills [11]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alien Biology, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Not Starfleet, Anal Fingering, Asphyxiation, Begging, Biting, Christmas, Come Sharing, Dirty Talk, Explicit Sexual Content, Face-Sitting, Fluff and Smut, Hanukkah, Holidays Briefly Mentioned, Jewish Character, Knotting, M/M, NASA, Past Relationship(s), Past Spock/Nyota Uhura, Pon Farr, Praise Kink, Rimming, Safe Sane and Consensual, Self-Lubrication, Small Towns, Spitroasting, past Spock/Stonn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-02-24 10:03:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13211448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starfleetdicks/pseuds/starfleetdicks
Summary: Spock remembered Jim shuddering beneath him, heels digging into Spock’s back and Leonard’s softly whispered instructions. Leonard sucking Spock’s fingers clean and kissing Jim until they were both breathless and hard again.Another multi-verse fill for mcspirkholidayfest's Christmas/Winter Holidays event on tumblr.





	1. Faltering Few Steps

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sharing time together in Jim’s quarters had been a development of the last month. Jim would often fall asleep with a book in hand while Spock meditated or they would find classic holovids to watch together and Leonard would end up drooling on Spock’s shoulder. Spock remembered Jim shuddering beneath him, heels digging into Spock’s back and Leonard’s softly whispered instructions. Leonard sucking Spock’s fingers clean and kissing Jim until they were both breathless and hard again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for a mcspirkholidayfest prompt by urbanspaceman: _Spock (either from the TOS or AOS-universe) is switched into the other universe accidentally-- just as his Time draws near. He must confide in that universe's Kirk and McCoy and ask for their assistance with his biological needs._
> 
> Title (and chapter titles) taken from the poem _Stars_ by Robert Frost.

The bed felt stifling. Jim’s leg was thrown over Spock’s lower back, a line of heat and unconscious thought-transference. Spock rolled. He freed himself from Jim’s nonsensical dream about late grades and a cow in the classroom. The other side of the bed was blissfully cool. Spock buried his face into the familiar smell of Leonard’s aftershave. An emergency must have called him to the medical bay early. 

It was supposed to be their off-day. 

He dozed again until he heard birds chirping and the slam of a screen door. Spock’s eyes snapped open. 

The bed was completely empty now. 

“Mornin’, darling. Surprised to see you up first on your day off.” 

Spock extracted himself from the bed. Leonard’s voice at least was familiar and he knew with certainty that he had felt Jim in bed with him perhaps only an hour ago. He ran a hand over his torso, over the still-lingering scar from their crash onto Altamid. 

The pajama pants he wore, however, were not his own. They were plaid, unfamiliar, but soft to the touch. Well-worn, faded as if often washed. 

As an afterthought, he touched his own ears. 

Jim’s voice answered. “Had weird dreams about my grades not getting in on time so decided to start work early. The sooner I finish, sooner I can enjoy the holiday.”

“You’re going to ruin someone’s Christmas if you post them too soon, Jim. Lord, is that coffee? Whoever made the coffee for the graveyard shift at the hospital might have used actual dirt.” There was a beat of silence and then an appreciative groan. 

Their chatter resumed. Leonard sharing his trials and tribulations: broken bones, burns, babies. Jim lamenting his student’s terrible essay structures. 

The room was dark but Spock could just make out the bedside table. Jim’s reading glasses were folded on top of his copy The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It was not the copy of Wuthering Heights that had been there last night. There was a Terran lamp Spock did not recall and that he could not turn on.

“Computer, lights at fifty percent,” Spock tried. 

A soft beep and the room complied to his request. For a moment, he wondered if he was only hallucinating but the light revealed no sleek surfaces, no wall-integrated dresser drawers, and no regulation Starfleet items. Instead, there was a modest automatic closet door and a hamper in the corner of the mostly clean room. Both were filled with civilian clothing. Only the medical scrubs seemed familiar. Everything in this room was wrong. 

Spock paced the room. “Computer, present location and time.”

Another soft beep. Instead of the female Standard voice he had become accustomed to, a male voice in crisp Terran informed him: _Riverside, Iowa. 23 December 2264. 6:34 AM. Sunrise at 7:23 AM._

There were stairs in the main hallway that led to the kitchen where Jim and Leonard were talking. They looked unchanged. Leonard in scrubs. Jim in his black boxers. The kitchen was low-tech, unlike anything Spock had seen in his lifetime. If there was a replicator, Spock did not immediately see it. If there was an automatic dish disposal for cleaning, that too was missing. The sink was filled with dirty dishes. There was a basket of real, bright fruits on the kitchen island. Jim had a plate of runny eggs and greasy sausage links. Spock tried to recall the last time he had ever seen Jim indulge. 

Leonard saw him first, rooted in place at the threshold of the kitchen. He had a modest beard with stray grays. Spock had never known Leonard to grow out his facial hair. “Morning, darling, did we wake you? Rare for you to sleep past Jim.” 

Jim turned his head. Spock felt dread settle at the bottom of his stomach. Hazel eyes instead of piercing blue. Jim’s smile came as quick as ever, unchanged. “Morning, my little cabbage.”

“Never.” Leonard set his coffee down to look meaningfully at Jim. “And I mean _never_ say that around me again. Honestly, Jim.”

“To be fair, it probably sounds better in French.”

“Sweetheart, just don’t.”

Jim huffed and stood. He moved toward Spock, arms outstretched for a hug. “I got cold when you stopped letting me cuddle you this morning. Are you feeling sick? You’re usually all for getting as much body heat as I can make.”

Spock stumbled a step back. He felt hot, his chest like a dull fire, and his heart beat fast against his side. These were not his captain and doctor. It was not his home. Breathing felt difficult. 

Jim paused, brow furrowing. 

“This is why I insist you two take more vitamins. You’re bringing your students’ germs into this house, Jim. If Spock is sick, it’s likely your fault. Jo takes all her vitamins and actually finishes her orange juice. Unlike some people in this house.” 

“Quit it. He seriously looks green around the gills, Bones. Spock, baby, tell us what’s wrong.” Jim reached out but Spock cringed from his hands again. 

Leonard was quicker than Jim. Before Spock could turn to flee, Leonard had a tight hold of his wrist and a small tricorder out. He ran it over Spock’s torso before scanning over his face. Spock felt it before he saw it. _Surprise, confusion, shock, fear_. Leonard pulled his hand away as if it burned and dropped the tricorder. “Who are you?” 

“Bones?” Jim whispered. “What are you talking about? That’s Spock.” 

“Ain’t our Spock,” Leonard shot back. His eyes were firmly fixed on Spock’s ears. “Look at him. Ears are wrong. His eyebrows too. Hell, Spock’s hair is perfect but not _that_ perfect. Tricorder readings are all wrong. It’s not picking up a human physiology.” 

Spock bent to pick up the tricorder, forcing himself to take deep and even breaths. “I can assure you I am Spock but I must agree. I am not your Spock. This is most definitely not my universe.” 

“Your universe?” Jim asked, hovering behind Leonard. “Wow, Bones’ right. You are definitely different. You might even be taller. I should have kept my glasses on.” Jim had none of Leonard’s reservations. He drifted to Spock’s side, reaching up to touch one of his ears. Jim felt as calm as he sounded, barely perturbed. His touch was gentle, still loving, and infinitely curious.

Spock could nearly taste his unshakable faith and trust. It helped mitigate the heat. “Do you have Starfleet here? The Federation? Do you know of the planets beyond your own?” 

Leonard frowned. He shoved himself between them, holding Jim back with his arm. “A better question is where the hell is our Spock! What have you done with him?” 

Spock reeled back. “I have done nothing. I awoke to find myself here. In theory, your Spock has woken in my place aboard the _Enterprise_.”

“The hell is an _Enterprise_?”

“Bones, I don’t think he means any harm. You’re tired and this is insane. It’s a lot to process. Maybe you ought to lie down a bit? You were on a long night shift.” 

“Maybe you oughta lie down!” 

Jim spared a glance at Spock before touching Leonard’s cheek. He coaxed the doctor, leaning in to whisper reassuringly and kiss the corner of his mouth. “Bones, imagine. A parallel universe somewhere out there with aliens. I gotta hear about it. If he’s here, our Spock is probably safe with his Kirk and Bones. If not, well, Spock’s a big boy. He can handle himself. Remember that time he got Jo kicked out of karate when he cracked two of her teacher’s ribs cause the guy said Jo wasn’t good enough?” He swept the pad of his thumb over the peak of Leonard’s cheek and kissed him again. “Take a nap for me, Peaches.” 

Leonard’s shoulders dropped and he heaved a heavy sigh. 

“Yeah.” Leonard let Jim hug him tightly. He whispered, “but if he tries anything, scream and I’ll come with the baseball bat.” 

“Bones.” 

Leonard grumbled and shuffled upstairs when Jim let him finally go. 

Spock understood what he was feeling. It wasn’t the first time one of them had been pulled into another universe. Although one of the last times had been a mirror universe with evil counterparts. It was by far luckier to be here. Though, it didn’t make the worrying easier. Spock could hardly sleep when either his Jim and Leonard went missing or were swapped with others.

“Come on. Breakfast is getting cold. Saved a few pancakes for you.” Jim ushered Spock into the kitchen island, pushing him into the seat that Leonard had vacated. Jim placed a covered plate on the flat ring on the counter and waited ten seconds. He unveiled the pancakes. At least they had an advanced reheater. He slid the plate and a fork toward Spock. “Here eat this. I’ll tell you about us before I bombard you with questions, I think.”

Despite postulating a thousand theories of how and why he had been transported to this universe, Spock could not quell his natural curiosity. He nodded at Jim, wanting to hear about this place. There was always a part of him that felt a desperate need to understand whatever worlds their travels took them too. This was no exception. It helped, he supposed, that he also always found Jim and Leonard endlessly fascinating. They commanded his attention in every iteration he had found them. Their evil counterparts had been ruthless but seductive in their cruel confidence and power. There had also been a universe with female variations. It had been a singular experience to see his lovers as women. 

He ate while Jim sipped his coffee. 

“I guess I should start by telling you that I don’t know a Starfleet or Federation. We have NASA which has explored the outer rim and we have some colonies on the planets in our system. Mostly you have to be rich for that. My Spock works for NASA,” Jim said, sitting up straighter. The jut of his chin told Spock that he was incredibly proud of that fact. “He’s a consultant. Retired from field work to be a stay at home dad for Joanna, Bones’ daughter. I’m a high school science teacher. Pretty boring, huh?”

“What classes do you teach?” Spock interrupted.

“Physics and chemistry. We actually met at a physics conference. I went to the conference to listen to a lecture on teaching science in secondary education. Anyway, lecture got canceled and replaced by this NASA head-researcher named Spock Grayson. It was way over my head but I had a sudden, burning desire to learn more.” Jim winked at him. Spock knew from his own experience that the interest had not been purely academic. “I asked him to join me for coffee. We argued the detrimental effects of terraforming planets to suit human colonization. I fell in love immediately.” 

A surge of jealousy burned through Spock. On his ship, in his timeline, their journey had been less heartfelt and pure. They had suffered tragedies together. Hurt one another. Died to reach their beginning point. 

Their coming together had been like galaxies colliding, violent and inevitable. 

Life-altering.

Jim finished his breakfast before continuing, licking his fingers clean of sausage grease. “We met Bones later. Well, technically, I knew him already. We both grew up here. I met him when I was still a farmhand on my mom’s property. Cut myself on barbed wire. I had to go in for a tetanus booster shot and stitches. Spock and I were dating the next time I saw him. It was the day after Christmas. We found out I was allergic to something in the flavored lube I used.” Jim’s threw his head back to laugh and Spock was enraptured by the long line of his throat, the swell of his adam’s apple, and the hollows in his collarbone. “It happened like that a lot. Us ending up in the hospital cause I was allergic to something you’d never imagine. I mean, in this day and age—” Jim waved a hand absently, drawing Spock’s thoughts back. 

“How long have you been together?”

“Five years this Christmas, for the three of us. It took about a year to get Bones to agree to see us outside the hospital. Six months of which was just convincing him that we were both interested and not just me. Bones had never done this sort of thing before us. It was new and scary.”

“You made it work.”

Jim’s smile melted to something soft and distant. “We have, yeah. Really have.” 

Spock placed his fork carefully on his empty plate and pushed it away. It had only been five years that he had known his own Jim and Leonard. It had been far less time since they had become tangled in each other’s feelings, just a few months. New and difficult. Often, Spock said something that hurt Leonard’s feelings or offended his sensibilities. Leonard could just as easily cut Jim to the bone with a comment. Jim was less likely to cause a fight but his risky planetside behavior set Spock and Leonard on edge more than enough to compensate. 

“So what is it like?” Jim tapped the table near Spock’s hand. He shrugged when Spock looked up. “My turn to ask questions.”

“NASA gave way to Starfleet and the Federation. Starfleet is primarily an exploratory organization that can also contribute to defense or war needs as necessary. The Federation came as a result of other sentient beings finding one another. To avoid conflict, they band together. These unions have allowed all associated worlds to prosper. We have incredible technological advances as a result. I am from a planet in that Federation. It is called Vulcan. Starfleet allows all,” Spock paused, unsure what this world would call non-Terrans, “aliens associated with Federation planets to join. There is an academy to learn how to perform all manner of necessary activities and research in space. That is how I met Leonard and Jim. Jim cheated on a test I made as a professor. Leonard was his fellow student and accompanied him to his hearing. We ended up on a starship together due to a threat to my planet.”

Jim leaned forward, hands clasped and pressed to his mouth. No doubt holding back a slew of questions. He settled on, “Are you all together like us?”

“Recently. It has been complicated. Difficult, as you mentioned.” 

“Worth it?”

He thought of the bed upstairs, the hot press of Jim against his side and Leonard’s lingering scent. Their nights together were still tense and awkward, still too new. Sometimes Spock could not get to sleep at all, trapped between them. Other nights were plagued by Jim’s nightmares.

But there were mornings were Jim would drag the chessboard into bed, letting the pieces clack until Spock finally rolled over and indulged him. And evenings when Leonard would force them together for dinner by making their favorite meals. Sharing time together in Jim’s quarters had been a development of the last month. Jim would often fall asleep with a book in hand while Spock meditated or they would find classic holovids to watch together and Leonard would end up drooling on Spock’s shoulder. 

He remembered Jim shuddering beneath him, heels digging into Spock’s back and Leonard’s softly whispered instructions. Leonard sucking Spock’s fingers clean and kissing Jim until they were both breathless and hard again. 

Spock nodded. “Yes.” 

Jim gave him a thumbs up. “You had me worried with that pause there, buddy.”

“This is not the first time I have seen an alternate universe nor the first time we have all been together. There has yet to be a universe where I do not love you both,” Spock answered, plucking at the table cover. 

“Oh my god.” Jim shot up from his seat. “It’s the first time you’ve said the L word, isn’t it? I cannot believe I am seeing you do this with my own two eyes. Okay so you have pointed ears and this may be a grading-fever dream, but this is the bee’s knees!” 

“Bee’s knees?”

Jim put his entire hand on Spock’s face, pressing gently. “No, stop. I already love my Spock too much. You can’t sway me with your quirky alien inability to understand weird metaphors. That’s a dumb scifi trope and I refuse to be pulled in.” He lifted his hand and gave Spock a peck on the cheek. “Your first use of the L word, wow. This is an honor.” 

A surge of hot want tore through Spock’s core. He wanted, desperately, his own Jim. His own Leonard who no longer looked at him with that undisguised distrust and fear that this Leonard had. “Jim,” Spock forced out, groaning through a sudden tight cramp in his lower belly. 

“Feeling sick again? God I hope it wasn’t the pancakes. I used cashew milk.” He used his free hand to touch Spock’s forehead. “Huh, well... I have no idea what this sensory information is telling me. How about you walk me through it?”

Spock shook his head. The touch at his forehead barely soothed him. It made him ache for more. He had the mad thought to press this Jim to the counter and take him apart as he had learned to do with his captain in the early hours before alpha shift. Another cramp clutched him and refused to loosen. “I am fairly certain it is merely biology and an unfortunate sense of timing.”

“What kind of biology?” 

“Vulcan biology.”

Jim rolled his eyes and extracted both of his hands, swatting at Spock. “No shit, smartass. Biology as in?”

“Reproduction.”

“Oh.” 

Spock grimaced. “It will pass. This is only the beginning, to warn me that my time has come. It is called Pon Farr, our time of mating. It comes for Vulcans once every seven years, a biological imperative to reproduce.” 

“Oh boy, so are you guys like pointy eared salmon or something?” 

“The mating drives are not dissimilar. I will succumb to a madness and die if I do not mate.” 

Jim frowned. “I was joking about the fish but that’s pretty intense. Would your Jim and Leonard be able to help you?”

Spock did not know that they would want to so soon. He had not told them about Pon Farr. He had not told them many things. Like the way he felt the ache to touch their minds like an empty pit in his, yearning. Or how he felt most at ease touching them both and thought they must be his _t’hy’la_. It was too much, too soon, for Terrans. “I do not know.”

“Man, Bones is gonna be an ass about this. I can already feel a disturbance in the force.”

“In the what?”

“Eh, that’s a reference to a classical film.” 

The day passed in relative silence. Spock spent the entire day wandering every inch of the house while Leonard slept and Jim graded. 

Jo’s room was on the first floor next to the home office Jim was sequestered in. Her room was covered in NASA posters and hand drawn family photos. Stuffed animals were piled on the bed. Spock ran his hand over the hand stitched quilted comforter and a narwhal with a haphazardly reattached horn. There was a picture of Jo on the bedside table, grinning and holding tight to a man. She was clearly Leonard’s daughter. Though Leonard was slow to smile, those apple-cheeks were perfectly reflected in his daughters who seemed happy and carefree. She has his complexion, his dark hair, and his eyebrows. There was a small gap between her front teeth and a dusting of freckles over her nose. Spock wondered if those were from her mother. 

The man in the photo he hardly recognized but for the eyes. Human eyes. Sad. The Spock of this world wore a soft, unabashed smile as he looked down where Jo held onto him. His one exposed ear was rounded and pink. 

“You know, she adores him. He gets to be with her more often than me usually.” 

Spock replaced the photo on the bedside table and glanced back at Leonard. “You look well-rested.”

“Yeah, just woke up,” Leonard grunted, voice still gravely. “How are you feeling?”

This at least was the same. No matter how Leonard felt about him, it was impossible for him to ignore someone who was unwell. It made a line of tension in Spock unravel. “It will come in waves. It is an alien biological imperative to mate or die.”

Leonard blinked slowly. “Pardon?” 

“My apologies. That is not yet necessary information, I suppose. Currently I am well and will likely remain well for another day or so. In which time, I would hope that whatever has brought me here has sent me back to my ship.” 

“You’re right. Too damn soon for me to deal with this voodoo mumbo jumbo.” Leonard cleared his throat, taking a tentative step into the room. “I just came to say sorry is all. Ain’t your fault you’re here instead of him. Probably just as uneasy with all this.” 

“This is not the worst timeline to have come to nor the most jarring.” Spock looked back down at the picture of Jo. “How old is she? This is the first time I have had the privilege of seeing Joanna.”

Leonard came closer, sitting on the edge of Jo’s bed. Spock felt as if he was testing the waters, still unsure and fearful despite his apology. “Twelve. Funny hearing that. Y’all are damn near inseparable. You just missed her actually. She stayed until the last day of Hanukkah to celebrate with you and Jim. Jocelyn gets her for Christmas. It’s been that way since we all moved in together.”

“I know of Hanukkah. My mother celebrated it when she was still living.” Spock sat next to him. There was a small, respectable gap between them. He would not push Leonard. He knew it would only accomplish the opposite effect. It was enough that Leonard had come to him at all. 

“Aliens have Hanukkah?”

“If there are any who do, I do not know them. My mother was human. My father is alien.” 

“Hybrid, huh? That must have been a fascinating birth.”

“Fascinating indeed, doctor. My species and humans share enough genetic similarities to make viable offspring. A team was necessary to provide genetic assistance. The process of carrying me to term was complex but it was a successful venture. My mother survived the experience. The first human woman to carry a Vulcan child to term.”

“Vulcan. You already gave Jim a whole run down didn’t you?”

“Simplified.”

“Of course.” 

They sat in a companionable silence and Spock resumed his visual exploration of the room. The closet had been transformed into a padded reading nook, books piled by the opening. Only a few shelves took up any space, stacked with folded clothing. Strings of unlit lights were artfully hung within. Jim had said that this Spock stayed home to raise Jo. Her room helped him infer much about her, as did his understanding of Leonard, but he could not help but wonder how she would interact with him. Or how deeply loved she must be that Spock would offer to raise the child, to give up the tangible touch of space or advanced technologies to sit in a house with paper and ink books, a kitchen with no replicator, and no contact with others like himself. 

“What are you thinking about? Your facial expression is so blank but there’s just this small tick. Right eyebrow. Can tell you’re thinking hard about something.” Leonard leaned closer, breaching the gap between them. He smelled divine, better than the stale smell on the sheets this morning. Muskier from a long work shift and sleep. 

Spock, unable to help himself, moved as well. Drawn in. He took a long and slow breath in, dragging Leonard’s scent into his lungs with a satisfied sigh. “Now? That you are intoxicating.”

Leonard flushed, blush crawling up his throat, but he did not flee. “Before now. No funny business, mister.”

“I wondered if I could give up everything as he did. If I could leave space and the promise of new worlds, for this.”

“Could you?” 

“It seems so much to give when I think of my responsibilities and the rewards of my post. Space exploration was always my dream. Without it, I would have never met Jim and Leonard. Our ship has been my first true home, my first functional and loving family.” Spock pressed closer, dragging his nose along the line to Leonard’s throat. He felt his heat peaking, another wave threatening to overtake him. Leonard’s bubbling arousal and confusion, his hesitancy, pulsed with his carotid artery. “Yes,” he whispered. “I could give it all up for them if they asked. I am made for them, destined for them.” 

Leonard shivered. “You, uh, you’re more poetic than him. More romantic.”

It wasn’t worth explaining the irony of Leonard saying that Vulcan was more romantic than a Terran so Spock did not bother. He kissed the line of Leonard’s jaw, resisting the urge to bite and claim. It would pass. The heat did not consume him yet. Spock forced himself away and up. “Forgive me. It grows harder to ignore.”

“Sure, get a man wound all up and then decide to be a gentlemen.” Leonard looked unraveled, flushed and breathing hard. He swallowed audibly, standing and leaving the room. “I’ll be fine I guess. Feels a little like cheating.”

“We are the same person.”

Leonard snorted and shook his head. He paused at the door to the office. “Gonna make dinner, Jimmy.”

“What are you making?” Jim glanced up from the maelstrom of papers before him. His glasses were slightly askew. “Oh, did you two talk?” He smiled, pleased by whatever he saw on their faces. 

As if he couldn’t help himself, Leonard blurted out, “Yeah and he got handsy!”

Jim laughed so suddenly that he nearly knocked his glasses off and shoved a pen in his face as he went to cover his mouth. “I’m sure our Spock will understand, Bones. Don’t stress yourself out. This Spock is pretty seductive. I think it’s the ears.”

“This is not about the ears. You’re a terrible influence. Why do I let you around Jo?”

Jim straightened his glasses. “Cause I’ve still got a good back and can chase her all around outside, old man.” He winked at Spock. 

Leonard spluttered and made an obscene hand gesture at Jim before stomping to the kitchen. 

“Make sure he makes some mac and cheese. I have a hankering for mac and cheese.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus (Sparknotes):
> 
> In the Alternate Universe, the boys and Joanna live together in Riverside, Iowa. Jim used to be a farmhand but is currently a highschool science teacher. Leonard is a trauma doctor at the local hospital and training to be a surgeon. Spock is an NASA researcher/consultant who works from home. Spock and Jim are Jewish. Leonard was raised Catholic. Joanna still sees Jocelyn regularly. Jocelyn and Leonard, despite the divorce, are close friends.


	2. Invisible at Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yes, Jim, let me.” Spock rumbled with pleasure as Jim’s hands went slack. He snatched them by the wrists, holding tight. Arousal buzzed in a loop where they touched. Spock felt drunk with it. He ground his teeth, wanting to sink them into Jim’s shoulder, jaw aching. “Let me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for a mcspirkholidayfest prompt by urbanspaceman: _Spock (either from the TOS or AOS-universe) is switched into the other universe accidentally-- just as his Time draws near. He must confide in that universe's Kirk and McCoy and ask for their assistance with his biological needs._
> 
> Title (and chapter titles) taken from the poem _Stars_ by Robert Frost.

The next two days passed in much the same pattern. Spock suffering his peaks, the time between each shortening. Jim handling his grading or cleaning the house when Spock locked himself in a cold bath. Leonard going to his night shift and coming back to drop dramatically into bed for a few hours. 

Christmas passed in silence except that Jim kissed Leonard long and slow before he left for work. A rare day shift. Although Leonard had already warned them, he might stay if the unit needed him. 

“Merry Christmas,” Jim whispered against Leonard’s lips.

“You know I’d stay if I could, sweetheart.” 

“Yea. Accidents don’t stop just cause the holiday though.”

Leonard’s grip on Jim’s hips tightened and he sighed, kissing Jim again. “Hell, don’t I know it. You too better stay in. Between the snow and last-minute travelers, it’s a dangerous time of year.” 

Spock had nowhere to go even if he wanted to. His blood was thumming and his body was in full tilt toward Plak Tow. He humored Leonard with an obedient nod nonetheless when the doctor fixed him with a sharp look. Even if his time was not approaching, Spock was very clearly otherworldly. He couldn’t risk being seen by other Terrans. Jim’s solution of a beanie had not been funny nor helpful when Jim had expressed some wishful thinking about Spock accompanying him for groceries. 

“We’ll be right here all day, Bones. Just come back to me before midnight and I can give you a Christmas gift.”

“We already exchanged gifts, Jim. You gave me books like the nerd you are.”

“They were medical in nature! And Hanukkah isn’t Christmas. You know that better than anyone. Besides, we have this argument every year. I’m still honoring the holiday you grew up with, _Leonard._ ”

“It’s not necessary, _James._ ”

“Spock, tell him!”

Spock startled, standing to attention at the commanding undertone to Jim’s voice. “It is not wise to continue to debate an issue that Jim has already come to a decision on, Leonard. Such an attempt has always proven fruitlessly frustrating for you. I am sure Jim merely wishes to express his affections by valuing a tradition you are more familiar with.”

Leonard shuffled uncomfortably as Jim grinned, throwing his arms around Leonard’s neck. “See, I told you. Even this Spock knows it.” 

“Damn it, Jim. I already know you love me. Christmas is for kids.” 

“Well, as you frequently like to remind me, I am a giant child and if I want to celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas you can’t stop me,” Jim sang, showering Leonard in kisses. Unorthodox but it did effectively end the conversation as Leonard grew more and more flustered. 

He pulled away, wiping at his face and turning toward the door. Even his ears were red. “Fine, whatever! I’ve got to get going before I’m late. I’ll call if I get held up.”

With a smug lilt to his voice, Jim continued his sing-song, “Bye, babe, love you.” 

“Love you too,” Leonard grumbled before he was gone, the screen door kicking into place behind him. 

Spock slid past Jim to watch him go. 

An ache yawned open inside of him and he vibrated there, willing himself to stay inside. This was not his Leonard and he could not drag him back into the house to ravish. Another peak was swelling. It was only a matter of time before the fever consumed him. Already the need in him was strong. There were seconds before the hovercraft that took Leonard to the hospital would speed away. Spock was confident he could cross the distance in half the time. He had ripped stronger metal apart when he had fought Khan to avenge Jim. The shuttlecraft would come apart in his hand and he could convince Leonard that his need was too great. 

“Hey, Spock, you’re worrying me. You okay?” Jim’s hand seared his bicep.

Spock drew away from the screen door with a sharp inhale. 

Jim let go. “Woah there, big guy. Just your friendly neighborhood Jimmy here. Concerned friend? Can you still use your words?”

“Yes,” Spock ground out. It was not very convincing, guttural and reluctant. He had almost forgotten Jim was here. Jim could ease him. It would be so very easy to convince him. The love there was undeniable. It hardly mattered which Spock he loved, Jim would welcome him. Spock only had to ask, to make his needs clear. He advanced two steps, breaching the space between them. 

“Oh boy.” Jim threw his hands up against Spock’s chest, pushing back hard. It hardly made a difference but to make Spock growl. “I need you to breathe, buddy. Come on. In and out, slow.” 

Spock pressed forward against his hands, inhaling deeply at Jim’s neck, just under his ear. 

“Fuck.”

“Yes, Jim, let me.” Spock rumbled with pleasure as Jim’s hands went slack. He snatched them by the wrists, holding tight. Arousal buzzed in a loop where they touched. Spock felt drunk with it. He ground his teeth, wanting to sink them into Jim’s shoulder, jaw aching. “Let me.” 

Jim’s breath puffed against his cheek. “Sorry, Spock.” A knee swiftly connected with Spock’s stomach, knocking the wind from him. Jim extracted himself from his grasp. “Don’t make me get cold water. I need you to stay level headed for as long as possible, okay?” 

Spock bent forward, clutching his stomach. The pain helped. “Forgive me. The fever comes.” 

“I can tell.” Jim scrubbed a hand through his head. He took a wide berth around Spock and grabbed water bottles and an ice pack from the fridge. “Hey, come upstairs. Let’s see if we can get you to sleep off some of it. No matter who you look like, I want Bones here if we need to help you. You’re just gonna have to wait.”

Spock followed, hand still shielding the tender spot as if Jim might attack him again. If only his mind was not in a thousand places, imagining their touch on him or his other cycles. Other lovers. Nyota his last season, Stonn in his first. He remember Nyota best, straddling his hips. She had forced his hands just under her breasts, bracing her as she rocked down against him. The long line of her throat still made him hunger in his loneliest moments. Stonn had been another thing completely. Spock had nothing to compare him to. They had wrestled, thrown themselves into the sands under the blazing suns. Stonn worshipping his chest, bite marks adorning the swell of his pecs. His nipples had been tender for weeks following. 

“Ground Control to Major Tom. Anybody still in there? Hello?” Jim snapped his fingers in front of Spock’s face. 

“Forgive—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re distracted by your dick. We’ve all been there. Here, drink one of these and get in bed. Have you had a sleep drug administered before?” 

Spock drained the bottle in one long drink. It did nothing to quench the heat growing in his stomach and spreading to his lower back. “Yes.” He handed the empty bottle back to Jim, wiping the back of his mouth. 

The bedroom was cleaner. The clothes were picked up from the floor, the sliding door to the closet was closed, and the bed was made. Spock had not slept here since the first morning. The couch had become his refuge. To sleep between these two was to tempt fate. They were not his to have. 

He crawled under the covers, immediately burying his face into the bed. A groan escaped him and he could not help but grind his hips down. “I have missed your scents,” he murmured, voice further dampened by the mattress and sheets. 

He could hear Jim set the extra water bottles on the bedside table and load a hypo. “Glad you’re happy. You know, when Jo goes to see Jocelyn, that usually means fun times. You’re sort of killing me here. Supposed to be using our time wisely.”

A long silence followed. 

“I can practically hear you screaming that you can do it. I know you can do it, Spock. But it’s not you. Or rather, you’re not him?”

Spock closed his eyes. The heat was beginning to crawl up his chest but his heart felt heavy. “I am aware. It would be but a temporary relief. I would still need them.”

“If you don’t get them?”

“You are aware of what will occur if I do not satisfy the mating cycle.” 

Jim was quiet again. The bed dipped as he sat. His gentle hand ran over Spock’s back. “I know you said it was a Vulcan biological imperative. I just don’t get it though. Why is it mate or die?”

“Vulcan males become virile only once every seven years. The only exception to this is a Vulcan female’s Pon Farr. Her need can trigger an early cycle in her chosen through a mind meld. Their fertility cycles are as rare as our own. Our bodies must undergo an extreme increase in reproductive activity to produce either viable eggs or potent seminal fluid. If not stopped, the fever that results from this consumes us until there is nothing left to take. We drive ourselves mad with need and starve ourselves of food and water until our bodies cannot take more.” 

“How romantic. Is Vulcan some kind of hellscape?”

“A high desert, yes, that once held very few resources.” Spock turned his head to one side. “Limited offspring was a logical evolutionary step when one takes into account the resources that go into child rearing. My ancestors used to fight to obtain choice mates. The fever made for long, arduous bouts if there was a stronger claim from another male or female. All these factors compounded by the fact that a viable wombs, eggs, and seminal fluid all require devoted production from the body. If the host cannot obtain consistent food and water, the body will not trigger these productions because a female host would be unable to sustain a child and a male would create severely decreased amounts of ineffective sperm.” 

Jim ran his hand higher, massaging the nape of Spock’s neck, pausing only to administer the hypo to Spock’s upper arm. He tugged the comforter from under Spock to cover him. “Remind me never to go to Vulcan.” 

“You did not enjoy it. It was hotter than any summer you had known on Earth.” The hypo worked quickly. His limbs felt heavy and it was harder now to feel the heat. 

Jim laid down next to him, evidently no longer worried for his safety. He ran a gentle finger down the ridge of Spock’s nose. “Do Vulcans have sex outside of the mating cycle?”

“Yes,” Spock answered, blinking slowly. He fought to stay awake, to explore the depths of this Jim’s eyes. Hazel and wrong but still Jim. Always Jim. 

“What’s it like?” 

“Vigorous.” 

“You’re joking,” Jim said in a rush of laughter. 

Spock closed his eyes, the sound ringing in his ears. “Yes, Jim.” 

The next day brought only more misery. Despite it being Leonard’s day off, he had begun to scan Spock at regular intervals. His tricorder was ever in hand. Jim had been advised to keep his distance. It hardly mattered. Both their presences, hovering but not quite touching, only served to infuriate some primal urge in Spock. Leonard’s scans had him growling, teeth clenched, after the first five hours of checks at every thirty minutes. It had taken Spock snapping at the air between them and baring his teeth for Leonard to relent to one hour intervals. 

A tricorder was not necessary to tell Spock the unfortunate truth; his valleys were shortening and the peaks were becoming more frequent and long-lasting. The first brushes of the Plak Tow were beginning to take hold of him. In another day or less, they all would have to face the truth. 

If Jim and Leonard would not ease him, he would die. 

Spock drew himself yet another cold bath in the blue porcelain tub of the downstairs washroom. The chill of the water only lasted a few minutes. It did nothing to ease him. Exhausted, he sunk further into the rapidly warming water. At least hidden within the bathroom, he could resist the temptation to stalk the house behind either Jim or Leonard. Fight his urge to pin them and ready their bodies to receive him. Nothing of the bathroom downstairs smelled of them, either. A fact that Spock had discovered the first day he had locked himself within this particular bathroom. 

The large blue whales on the bathroom walls looked unsympathetic as they swam lazy laps on the four walls and ceilings. Their soft clicks and whistles just loud enough to echo in the small bathroom. Spock closed his eyes. If he tried hard enough, past the haze of lust, he could imagine he was back on the bridge. 

His absence would not have affected ship life. Pavel would be on the science station. Darwin on at the helm with Sulu. The bridge would continue working as harmoniously as it always did. More than half the crew of the starship could be missing and the _Enterprise_ would find a way to move forward. 

How was the Terran Spock doing? Was he sequestered to Spock’s quarters just as Spock was relegated to the couch here? Perhaps Jim would welcome him to his bed. What did they think of him? He was handsome in the photo from Jo’s room, in spite of the rounded ears and shaggy brown hair. Perhaps they would prefer a Spock who was easy to communicate with. A smile that came unbidden. A brow that furrowed in concentration. It certainly suited them best here. More than once they had affirmed to Spock that they would not resort to infidelity unless Spock was truly dying. 

Their Spock was first and foremost in their heart. 

He wondered what that must feel like, to be the center of their loyalty and love. 

Maybe they were at a similar loss, unwilling to truly interact with his Terran counterpart. All parties were aware that their time swapped could not be indefinite. Eventually, the universes would strive to repair themselves. Leonard might have quarantined him. A Terran who had never trained for deep space exposure or had the barrage of vaccines that were standard before any stint of duty could be in possible danger. Was he a willing patient, understanding of his Terran fragility? 

“Spock?” A gentle knock. 

“Leonard?”

“Just checking you’re still breathing. How are you feeling?”

Spock searched his mind for the time. If Leonard had sought him out, an hour had passed. “If you need to examine me, the door is not locked.” 

“On a scale of one to ten, tell me how bad you are.”

“Six.” Thinking of his timeline had dulled the roar in his head. Worrying about rejection was illogical. Jim and Leonard were dating him after all. Yet, the doubt stayed there. Lodged deep in his side where his heart thumped painfully. 

If Sybok were with him, he could take the fear and pain from him. _These anxieties are Terran, Spock, from Amanda. To love someone else is to make yourself vulnerable to pain. Share your pain with me and gain strength from the sharing._

Leonard opened the door inch by inch, peering in. “Six, huh. I guess that’ll be as safe as we get for a long while.” He edged in, tricorder in hand. He sat on the matching blue toilet and kept his eyes trained on Spock’s face as he ran his tests. “Well, you might feel in control but the climb in your respiration and heart rate just won’t quit. Nevermind your blood pressure, body temperature, and your brain activity. If you were a human, you’d have been dead twice over.” 

Spock laid his head back, closing his eyes. He was well aware he was no longer the perfect picture of Vulcan health. All upticks made sense in the throes of Pon Farr but the continued acceleration would prove fatal soon enough. He could feel the toll on his body already. 

“Christ, even this tub is blistering hot. Did you bother with cold water at all?”

“It was as cold as the taps would allow when I began my soak.” 

Leonard cursed under his breath and yanked back the shower curtain. When Spock opened his eyes, Leonard was already reaching into the tub to unstop the water. “You’re going to boil yourself. Come on, get up. Might as well dry you off and just set the house temperature as low as I can handle. Jim won’t mind.” He stepped back to let Spock pull himself out of the tub, yelling into the hall. “Jimmy, set the temperature to something arctic.” 

“Roger,” Jim shouted back. 

“We ought to get you to sleep. Do Vulcans get cooler while they rest?” Leonard glanced back at him.

Spock had already redressed in the pale blue pajama bottoms and NASA shirt Jim had given him this morning. He nodded. It seemed the answer to all his suffering was to sleep. It certainly made it easier on Jim and Leonard. If Spock was asleep, he was not trying to pin them to walls or growling if they strayed too far during his peaks. 

“Alright, darling. Let’s see what we can do.”

Jim was waiting in the hall. Neither Leonard nor he bothered with the pretense of taking Spock to the couch. They took him to the bedroom, stripped the blankets, and forced Spock to the middle. “We can cuddle him, Bones. Leech his warmth. You and I are about to be icicles anyway.”

Spock merely folded his hands over his stomach and settled in to sleep. If he could not, there would be another hypo in him soon to force the issue. 

It took only a few silent moments for Leonard to throw his hands up in the air. “Fine, yes, okay. I hate seeing any Spock sick like this. Whatever it takes,” he muttered, looking resigned. 

Jim was pressed again Spock’s side in a flash, nuzzling his shoulder. “Are you okay? Do you feel in control?”

“I am tired but in control.” 

“Barely,” Leonard scoffed, pulling on a hoodie before flopping into bed. He laid stiffly at Spock’s side for a moment. “You might as well wrap an arm around me or something. Freezing my ass off for you.” 

Spock obeyed, pulling Leonard tightly against him. His skin already felt like ice against Spock and he sighed with relief. “Thank you. I am sorry to have put you both in this position.” 

“It’s fine. Kind of feels like the first time we all got in bed together.” Jim smiled against his arm as Leonard rolled his eyes. “Come on, Bones. Wouldn't it be something to watch, to be a part of? To see it happen all over again? Fucking me for the first time or fingering yourself open for Spock?” He winked, his grin salacious. 

The very thought of it made Spock groan and squeeze his eyes shut. “Please do not elaborate for your own sake.”

“Don’t make me hypo you both. Keep it in your pants, Jim. Ain’t helping anybody.” Leonard reached over to pinch Jim’s arm. 

“Ow, oh my god. I’m sorry; I forgot for a second. I have a dumb human brain, remember?” 

Leonard muttered a few uncomplimentary things against Spock’s side. They lapsed into a comfortable silence as the room cooled. Spock listened to their sluggish heartbeats and their measured breathing. Jim was drifting; Spock could feel his thoughts becoming disjointed. Leonard still was ticking off all the things Spock had warned them they might need if they did have to tend to him. 

Spock spread his fingers over Leonard’s side. _Sleep_ , he pressed through their touch. 

Shrill medical klaxons tore Spock from rest and he sat up like a shot. He was shivering; the fever now ratched to a dangerous high. The blankets twisted around his waist and legs. He yanked at them, snarling. His bed was empty. Where were his mates? He shredded the blanket, kicking free of it. 

_Urgent medical assistance required in pod 091567. Repeat: urgent medical assistance required._

The sound of the _Enterprise_ ’s female computer voice gave him the briefest pause. This was not the bedroom he had fell asleep in. He turned, taking in the silver walls and bare, tiled floor. Behind him, there was a biomonitor on the wall flashing red. It scrolled at insane speeds, trying to keep track of his body’s chaos. His borrowed pajamas were gone, replaced by a thin Starfleet medical gown. 

“Call the captain to medical on the double, damn it!” Leonard shouted to someone before he charged into the room. His ire immediately focused on Spock. “I told you, you need to lie down! Your body isn’t adept at handling the conditions of deep space travel.” 

Relief crashed into him but it only served to make the biomonitor’s shrill klaxons grow louder. 

_Terran patient heart rate, respiration, adrenalin, temperature, blood pressure at fatal levels. Immediate medical assistance required in pod 091567. Repeat: Terran patient—_

Leonard’s eyes flicked to the biomonitor, panic beginning to edge onto his face. “I need you to lie down right now. I’m going to have to treat you with something. Computer, doctor administering care.” 

The klaxons abruptly silenced. _Acknowledged, Doctor McCoy._

His hands were shaking as he plucked hypos from a medical cart that has drove itself into the room. He approached Spock in a three quick steps, moving the edge of Spock’s gown to expose his thigh with a flick of his wrist. “I’ll need to administer a few hypos here. Might hurt.” 

“Doctor,” Spock tried as Leonard fumbled with the first hypo. So close, he could see Leonard’s eyes become glassy and dewy with tears. 

Leonard scrubbed at his face, cursed, and stopped to pull gloves on. “You’re fine. I’ll fix it. I can’t let anything happen to you before y’all switch, anyway.” He pressed his hand down on Spock’s thigh to steady both Spock and himself for the injection. The glove between them could not stop Leonard’s frantic emotions dousing Spock— _grief, fear, desperation. Can’t lose him, gotta get our Spock back._ Leonard pulled his hand back with surprise, tears spilling. “Oh god, you’re burning up. Okay, just take a few breaths.” 

Spock rubbed his knuckle against Leonard’s cheek, wiping a tear away. “Ashayam, look at me.”

It was perhaps the Vulcan word that snapped Leonard’s attention to him, more than the touch. His eyes were wide and he clutched the hypo in his hand so hard, Spock thought he might crush it. “Spock?”

“Yes, yours.” 

Leonard flung the hypo back on the cart and threw his arms around Spock, pressing his face into shoulder. The sob he let loose shuddered through them both. Spock only held him tighter, nerves singing from the contact. He hadn’t noticed, in the other place, that the Leonard there smelled nothing like his Leonard. Spock pressed his face into Leonard’s hair, breathing in deeply. His Leonard smelled like ionized air, replicated coffee, and something sweet like peaches. 

He smelled like home. 

“Your vitals,” Leonard choked, pulling back. He rubbed his face haphazardly with his own shoulder, discoloring the white scrubs he wore. “You’re still in the red even for a Vulcan. What’s happening?” 

He heard the medbay doors and Chapel’s startled exclamation before Leonard did. He could hear Jim at full sprint. When Jim crossed into the pod, he was resplendent in his command golds. “Bones,” Jim gasped out, clutching at the door frame. “S’up? Medical said emergency?” 

“Jim,” Leonard sobbed in response. “It’s Spock.”

Jim threw a confused look at Spock, the biomonitor, Leonard’s tears, and back to the biomonitor. Spock saw the same fear cross his face as had Leonard’s. 

“Our Spock.” Leonard added, trying to get ahold of himself. 

“Our Spock,” Jim repeated and then whispered it again to himself. He stared at Spock, lingering like he was drinking in every detail. His chin wobbled and he swallowed hard. “Hey, pointy ears.”

“Ashal-veh. Jim, I have missed you like the moon misses the sun.” 

Jim’s laugh was breathless and, as soon as he was close enough to the biobed, he stroked the curve of Spock’s ear to its point. “We missed you too.” He knelt on the bed and Leonard pulled away to make room, busying himself with fixing the doses on the hypos. Jim threaded his hand in Spock’s hair and pressed their foreheads together. “Don’t—” he croaked, voice thick, “don’t ever do that again.”

“Is that an order, Captain?”

Jim shook his head, pulling back to look at Spock. Spock felt mesmerized all over again by the vibrant blue of his eyes. “If it has to be, Commander.” 

“Jim, his vitals are still way off. Way too high for a healthy Vulcan.” Leonard was resolutely readying hypos. Two were clearly labeled for blood pressure and oxygenation. Another Spock recognized as an adrenalin stabilizer. Leonard pressed a hand back down on Spock’s thigh and administered five hypos in rapid succession. “I need to get his vitals back under control or we’ll have an entirely different problem on our hands.” 

“That medication will only delay the inevitable, Doctor.” Spock brushed Jim’s hair back from his face and traced the meld points he knew by heart. “I have suffered away from you both. May I show you?” 

Jim immediately nodded, pressing into his hand, as if eager for the meld. 

Leonard frowned and scooted closer. “At the same time?”

Spock reached for Leonard’s meld points. “Yes, together. My mind to your minds.” 

The meld felt seamless. For the first time in his life, Spock felt whole and at peace despite the fever boiling his blood or the crushing emotions spilling from Leonard and Jim into him. It was not a hardship to bear it all, the relief and desperate concern. Their fear was bitter on the back of his tongue. He eased it the only way he knew how. Everything from their time apart came unbidden, including his Pon Farr.

He fed them his hunger, his heat, the unending yearning in his body for them and no one else. 

Leonard pulled away first, Jim just a breath later. They were both trembling, looking at one another for reassurance. 

“You’re in heat?” Jim asked. 

“Essentially.” 

“And you’ll die if you don’t fulfill your heat with someone.”

“That is the nature of our mating cycle, yes.” 

Leonard stood up, putting the used hypos and his gloves in the medical cart’s recycling receptacle. The medical cart beeped twice before speeding away. He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath. “I’m not letting you fuck me,” Leonard announced and Spock felt the rejection to the very center of his core. Jim made a noise but Leonard barreled on, “Not in the medical bay. Even if these pods are soundproof. I want Jim’s fancy ass captain’s bed under my delicate figure if you’re going to be growling and wrestling me.” 

Spock felt weak with relief. He looked at Jim for his answer. 

Jim rolled his eyes. “We all know I’m not going to say no to you.” 

Pushing up the sleeves on his scrubs, Leonard huffed. “Get to the bridge and figure out who the hell to assign for the next few shifts, Jim. Based on his vitals, I doubt we have time for lollygagging.”

Jim jumped up, saluting crookedly. “Got it, Bones. Meet you in my quarters?” He kissed Leonard and paused before visibly deciding not to kiss Spock. “Can’t risk touching you right now or we will have to make do with a medical pod. Is it normal to get hard from a mind meld?”

“Jim, get to the damn bridge, you absolute menace.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ashayam = beloved.  
> Ashal-veh = darling. 
> 
> Be mindful: the next chapter will contain explicit sex between three consenting adults so please read all tags before enjoying the content.


	3. Stars Like Some Snow-White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spock had the presence of mind to wait until they were near the bed before grabbing Jim around the waist and tossing him unceremoniously onto the bed. “I burn. My eyes are flame. My heart is flame.” He shucked the medbay clothes he had borrowed. “I need you,” he growled, grabbing both of Jim’s ankles to pull him to the edge of the bed. He wanted to tear Jim free from his clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for a mcspirkholidayfest prompt by urbanspaceman: _Spock (either from the TOS or AOS-universe) is switched into the other universe accidentally-- just as his Time draws near. He must confide in that universe's Kirk and McCoy and ask for their assistance with his biological needs._
> 
> Title (and chapter titles) taken from the poem Stars by Robert Frost.

The hypos Leonard had injected Spock with wore off in under an hour. 

Within the second hour, Spock was pacing Jim’s quarters. Every fibre of his body was telling him to tear the ship apart until he had found them. That he needed them now and could not wait. There was already one dent by the door where he had physically lashed out in an effort to control himself. 

When Jim and Leonard finally arrived, they were together. 

“Had to prepare everything, sorry,” Leonard said, kissing Spock before rushing off with his medical bag to the bedroom. He left Jim behind, whose pupils were dilated and breathing unsteady. 

Jim grinned and took Spock’s hand, tugging him toward the bedroom. “How are you feeling?”

Spock had the presence of mind to wait until they were near the bed before grabbing Jim around the waist and tossing him unceremoniously onto the bed. “I burn. My eyes are flame. My heart is flame.” He shucked the medbay clothes he had borrowed. “I need you,” he growled, grabbing both of Jim’s ankles to pull him to the edge of the bed. He wanted to tear Jim free from his clothes. 

With a low moan, Jim hurried to help him. “Bones was thorough. Ridiculously thorough. Don’t have to wait for you.” Spock threw Jim’s boots onto the floor and yanked his pants off. Jim leaned up to nip his jaw. “Remember he said no medbay mess around? Convinced him to prep me in his office. Bent over his desk and he worked me open for you, wanted me to be ready for you.” 

“More like you twisted my damn arm,” Leonard grumbled, coming out of the bathroom. He threw a handful of lubricant packets on the bedside table. Spock, already tearing Jim’s command gold and blacks in half, paused to admire Leonard, already naked. It never failed to make his mouth go dry. Leonard glanced at him and then away, blushing. “It seemed... logical. Didn’t need you tearing my good scrubs.” 

“Worth it,” Jim whimpered as Spock pointedly finished ripping Jim’s shirts. 

Leonard cleared his throat and joined Jim. He ran a hand over Jim’s exposed chest but did not interrupt Spock’s aggressive exploration. 

“Efficient,” Spock commended and resumed his work. He bit Jim hard under the swell one of pectoral. Jim gasped, bucking his hips. Spock kissed the reddening skin and moved lower. He knelt on the floor and yanked Jim to the very edge of the bed, settling Jim’s legs on his shoulders. “Ashal-veh,” he murmured into the meeting of Jim’s thigh to groin. 

Jim mewled, hips trembling as he tried to keep still. “Don’t need foreplay, Spock.” 

“I do not recall asking.” 

Jim threw his head back onto the bed. He grabbed Leonard’s hand from his chest and squeezed it tightly. 

Leonard leaned down, kissing his forehead. “Ain’t allowed to cum yet, Jimmy. You’re doing so good for us, sweetheart, giving Spock what he needs.” 

Spock gave Jim the briefest reprieve while Leonard praised him before he gripped the meat of Jim’s thighs just under his ass. “Leonard,” he purred, waiting for him to look up before he took Jim slowly down to the root. Leonard’s throaty moan was answer enough. Spock felt his heat rise as if it were a call, echoed by Jim’s near shout. He hummed with satisfaction and Jim arched beautifully. 

“Breathe, Jim,” Leonard coached. 

Jim tried to inhale.

Spock didn’t bother to make it easier on him, pulling up to press wet kisses along Jim’s cock. 

“You’re literally going to kill me. I’m dying,” Jim babbled between groans and awkward deep breaths. With his free hand, he squeezed the base of his cock and looked down at Spock. “Please, please.”

Spock did not bother reprimanding Jim verbally. He arched an eyebrow at him and gently probed the slit of his cock with his tongue. The effect was instantaneous. Jim shut his eyes and his thighs quivered on Spock’s shoulders. Spock relinquished him, licking his lips and glancing up at Leonard.

Leonard raised his eyebrow too. It took perhaps only a moment of eye contact before Leonard seemed to decipher Spock’s wants. He settled a heavy hand on Jim’s neck, applying the barest amount of pressure. Jim squeezed his eyes tighter, muttering star systems under his breath. “Sweetheart, need you to let go of that pretty cock and hold your legs open for Spock.” 

It took Jim a moment to blink up at Leonard. “Bones, please,” he begged.

“I know, sweetheart. Gotta listen first.”

He scrambled to obey, freeing Leonard’s other hand as he shifted to bring his legs up, abs tightening. “Like this?” Jim kept his legs wide, holding them up just under the inside of his knees. 

“Yes,” Spock rasped, gripping Jim’s ass to press him further back. He licked a self-indulgent stripe over Jim’s asshole and balls just to hear him mewl. Spock spread him further, until he could see Jim’s involuntary spasms. He pressed one quick kiss over Jim before lapping along the edge of his rim. 

Even in his fever, he wanted Jim to beg. 

Jim’s moan was short and sharp. Instinctively, Spock knew Leonard was carefully tightening his hold around his neck. 

The mental image only spurred him on. 

Claiming Jim, reducing him to sated bliss, was quickly becoming an ache. The need washed over him like a wave. He nosed at Jim’s perineum, sucking at his rim and sliding a finger gently into him. Jim opened beautifully, Leonard’s obvious handiwork. Spock pressed closer, removing his finger to lick into Jim again. The medical grade lubricant Leonard had used was tasteless but it made Spock growl nonetheless. He wanted to replace it, until the only thing Jim tasted of was him. 

He slipped his thumbs in side by side, stretching Jim wide, before burying his tongue in the space between. 

Jim clenched down before he came with another choked off shout. 

Spock moved up in a flash, sealing his mouth on the head of Jim’s cock, suckling gently. 

“Lord almighty, Spock,” Leonard moaned, sounding punch-drunk. 

He looked up at Leonard, gently letting Jim slip from his mouth. Spock stood, grinding against Jim’s thigh as he leaned over him. 

“You—” Leonard scrambled to meet Spock halfway. He exhaled a groan as Spock sealed their mouths together, feeding him Jim’s cum. 

“Oh my god.” Jim dropped his legs, immediately trapping them around Spock’s waist and digging his heel into Spock’s lower back. Purposefully grinding against his internal testes. Spock growled, letting Leonard go. Jim immediately leaned up to lick the cum leaking down Leonard’s chin. He sat up to kiss Spock’s chest, raking his nails along Spock’s dark happy trail. “Please, need you. Needed you all week. Fuck me.” 

“Up.”

Leonard was barely out of the way before Jim was scrambling to roll over onto all fours, shedding the remains of his shirts and tossing them to the floor. He let loose a litany of pleas as soon as he was ready. Pressing his forehead to Leonard’s thigh, he arched his back to present for Spock.

Spock stroked himself once, already unsheathed and hard from their foreplay. He slipped the tips of his fingers into the barely there seams of his sheath to gather more self-lubricant, smearing it over Jim. “Mine,” he snarled, yanking Jim’s hips to a better angle. With all the self-control he had left in him, he breached Jim slow. Each ridge caught on Jim for a moment before Spock thrust it through, making Jim whine. When he bottomed out, Spock leaned down to mouth at the peaks of Jim’s spine. 

“Spock, he’s more than ready,” Leonard answered before Jim could even rock his hips back. Jim tried to muster affirmative words and managed only soft gasps. “Shush, sweetheart. I know what you need. Open that mouth, darling, so goddamn hungry for cock, ain’t ya?” 

When Jim opened his mouth, Spock pulled back to thrust hard, shoving Jim down onto Leonard’s cock. 

As Leonard fisted a hand in Jim’s hair and held him down, Spock conversationally informed him, “there will be a knot.” He pulled out, pushing three fingers into Jim to hear him hiss as Leonard let him up, drool leaking down Jim’s chin. Spock fucked back into Jim as soon as Leonard pressed his cock back into that obscene mouth. 

“A knot?” Leonard grunted, tugging Jim’s hair to set a rhythm to match Spock’s slow thrusts. 

“To ensure my seed will take.” He slipped a thumb in alongside his cock, relishing the ease with which Jim took him. Jim could take anything they could give him, he was certain. 

Jim whimpered around Leonard’s cock. 

Leonard took the cue. “You want Spock to knot you, sweetheart?” He brushed his hand through Jim’s hair, giving him back control to answer if he needed. Jim ignored the freedom, just looking up as he deep throated Leonard and swallowed. Leonard cursed, gripping Jim’s shoulder and hissing. “Course you do. So good for us.” 

“Say it, Jim,” Spock demanded, thrusting in deep and grinding in a tight circle. 

Jim came up gasping for air in a heartbeat. “Please, Spock, yes. Knot me, gorgeous. Anything you want. All yours.” So quick to beg. It had taken them a few nights of awkward sex to reach this point. Jim cut open to the bone, begging for praise and for roughness. Leonard dutifully commanding him. And Spock caught irrevocably between their orbits. Their counterparts could never give him this. 

It took a handful more thrusts before Spock felt the swell begin to threaten. 

“Move up, on your side,” he rumbled. Leonard leveled him with a blank look and Spock repeated himself in Standard. 

Jim dragged himself up the bed, rolling onto his side and tucking a leg up to hold himself open for Spock. “More in Vulcan,” he asked in a breathless rush as Spock slid home into him again. “Missed you and your stupid eyebrows and bowl cut and the dumb way you say something is _illogical_ —” 

Spock pushed three fingers into Jim’s mouth. He answered in sharp Vulcan fragments, naming things he loved about them as he fucked Jim, knot beginning to catch and pull. Found Vulcan words to praise the dip of Leonard’s collarbones, the swell of his shoulders, and the long lines of his legs. His wishes to paint Jim with their cum, to kiss down the line of his chest, suck hickeys into the line of his iliac furrow. Spock whispered promises to worship at the altar of their bodies until his end. 

When his knot locked them together, Spock bit down into the meat of Jim’s shoulder as he orgasmed. 

Leonard took over immediately, murmuring praise and affection, as he took Jim in hand. Jim’s second orgasm was quieter, near silent as he held his breath. “Jim,” Leonard sighed, “you did so good, darling. You feel okay? Anything hurt?” He ghosted his fingers over the bite mark on Jim’s pec and up to where Spock’s teeth were still sunk into Jim’s shoulder. 

Spock growled but let go, dragging his tongue over the unbroken skin. 

“Words, Jim, need you to tell me if you’re okay. I have my medical bag.” 

“So good,” Jim slurred as Spock slid his fingers from his mouth and down around his neck. He shifted until Spock clamped down on his hips to keep them still, twin groans coming unbidden. “I feel good, Bones. Am I gonna bruise?”

Leonard laughed and took Jim’s hand, kissing the palm. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re gonna have a hell of a bruise.” 

“Don’t regen them.” Jim flexed his hand in Leonard’s grip before patting his cheek. “Hypo for the soreness though?”

“I’ll do you one better.” Leonard wiped Jim down with a warm, damp cloth, talking him down from his high and praising him for handling Spock so well. He gave him a hypo and didn’t let him settle down without a long drink of water. 

They waited out Spock’s knot and held Jim until he fell asleep, no doubt needing rest after a stint on the bridge, one aggressive Vulcan, and two orgasms. 

Spock carefully peeled himself from Jim, stroking a hand down his side when the movement made Jim grumble. 

Leonard watched, still half hard despite the long break, eyes riveted to Jim’s worn-red rim. Spock’s sheathing cock caught his attention next, the slit thick with leftover cum and self-lubricant. He rubbed the heel of his palm against himself. “How are you feeling now?”

“Improved.” The heat had abated. Though saliva still flooded his mouth as he watched Leonard reach back with his free hand to decadently finger himself. 

“So you don’t need me.”

“I will always need you.” 

Both hands paused and Leonard looked away, anywhere but Spock. “You don’t have to sweet talk me like we do for Jim.” He wiped his hands on the bed and sat up. “I know anyone would have done. You could have taken them.”

“Leonard.”

“Which would have been fine if it meant saving you.” 

“I love you,” Spock interrupted. He had known at that kitchen table when Jim’s counterpart had shared his romance. No, he had known sooner. On Altamid, when Leonard and Jim hovered over him in the bowels of the _U.S.S. Franklin_. Leonard snapped his mouth shut. Spock carefully maneuvered over Jim to cradle Leonard’s head in his hands. He caressed his clean-shaven cheeks and let his fingers kiss Leonard’s scar from their drone ship crash, just above the corner of his right eyebrow. “They would have satiated the drive but my soul yearns for you both. I had not dared to hope you would offer more.” 

Leonard scowled. “Of course we would. We don’t want you to die.” 

Spock shook his head. “Sex, yes, but would you love me?”

There was a split second where Leonard’s emotions were a storm under Spock’s hands. “I already loved both of you idiots.” It was faint and Leonard had closed his eyes to say it. But he had said it. “Jim does too. He’s been in love with you since Nero. Probably helped that you choked him against the navigation console.” 

“Ashayam,” Spock murmured, ignoring his attempt at distraction. He claimed Leonard’s lips, kissing him deeply. Leonard sighed into the kiss, taking one of Spock’s hands in his to drag their fingertips together. Spock shuddered, feeling his need rise again. He wished he had known it sooner but it had perhaps been good not to rush this tentative trust between them. They were not men with easy lives or uncomplicated hearts. They had been worth the wait, though it struck Spock suddenly that he may have been the last to fall in love.

Leonard bit Spock’s lower lip. “Stop thinking so much. Liable to make a man worried he’s not interesting enough.”

“You are more than interesting. You are fascinating.” 

The smack to Spock’s ass stung hot-white before fading into pleasurable tingling. The sound did nothing to stir Jim who still snored softly beside them but it made Spock’s blood feel like fire beneath his skin. “Ought to spank you red and raw for your lip.” Leonard cupped him tenderly in pointed contrast. And smirked when Spock’s slit oozed with fresh fluid, dripping onto Leonard’s stomach. “When Jim first convinced you to join us, I was terrified. I’d only been with Terrans before you. You’re different than what I expected.”

“Vulcans are restrictive in the information we provide regarding our physiology and anatomy to outsiders.”

“Tell me about it. Geoff laughed at my face when I asked him for help.”

“Dr. M’Benga is a consummate professional.”

“Yeah, didn’t tell me a damn thing. Not even when I put him on shifts with the new medbay ensign who still throws up when he deals with blood.” 

“Does my anatomy bother you still?”

“Lord, no. Brought it up because I wanted to ask you to, uh, well.”

Spock waited patiently. 

Leonard cursed under his breath and Spock could practically see the process of blood vessels widening and bringing more blood flow to Leonard’s face. His blush was dark and deep. “We call it face-sitting in less polite company.”

“Ah,” Spock knelt back onto the bed. “By all means, Leonard, find a comfortable position for which I can fulfill your heart’s desire.” 

That earned him fiercer curses but Leonard quickly laid himself out next to Jim, shoving a pillow under his head in obvious afterthought. Spock spared him further embarrassment, straddling him carefully as soon as he looked comfortable. Leonard’s hands came up to support him, bracing his lower back. They found his internal testes with practiced ease, rubbing gently as Spock settled. It was a strange feeling, placing his still weeping slit over Leonard’s face, with his penis sheathed away. 

“You are sure you want this?”

Leonard’s answer was a hot tongue cleaning him thoroughly of leftover cum. With great enthusiasm, Leonard delved into his slit, seeking out Spock’s penis. It took very little effort. Spock had been on the edge of arousal since Leonard had smacked him. Leonard kitten licked the head of his cock. He reached a hand blindly for Spock’s. 

Spock tangled their fingers together. 

_Can still taste Jim on you._

The salty taste of his own fluids bloomed on his tongue. He could feel the spongy head of his own cock, could smell his own musk, as Leonard’s thoughts blazed through him. Leonard pulled back to take a gasping breath before burying his face again. He sucked hard at Spock’s slit, moaning as Spock’s cock began to unsheath by slow centimeters. It took only minutes of Leonard’s dutiful sucking and long searching licks for Spock to become fully aroused. 

His cock smeared a line of pre-cum and self-lubrication over Leonard’s cheek and brow bone. 

Still Leonard gripped held him steadfastly in place. His fingernails dug into Spock’s lower back as he thrust his tongue into the seams of Spock’s slit, chasing his slick. _So wet for me, darling._ Spock ground down onto his mouth. He could cum like this, impaling himself onto Leonard’s tongue. No one had ever done this. It felt as if his slit was melting, dripping more fluids than he had ever managed before. Wasteful and perfect. 

“I want to try that next time.” Jim’s sleepy voice drifted over from next to them. He wiggled closer, peering over Spock’s thigh. 

Leonard glanced up at him, sucking at the hint of Spock’s knot. 

“Christ,” Jim breathed. He leaned in to lick at the corner of Leonard’s mouth. 

Spock thrust forward, grinding against their mouths. He pulled away to lie on the other side of Leonard. 

Jim chuckled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Too much?” 

“Not enough,” Leonard rasped even as Spock nodded, feeling overwhelmed. 

“We didn’t sleep together while you were gone,” Jim breathed, throwing the comment to Spock while he kissed Leonard wantonly. It looked as if Jim was in the throes of Pon Farr instead of Spock. Rolling his hips into the bed, kissing Leonard like it was a religious experience, and tugging at his chest hair like he hadn’t touched Leonard for a year and wanted to remember every inch. His nap had been short. Yet he was clearly eager for them once more. He grunted when Leonard shoved him up. 

“Sweetheart, promise I’ll take care of you but let me help Spock first.” 

Jim whimpered but let Leonard go. 

Leonard huffed a laugh, grabbing a packet of lube from the bed and tossing it at Jim. “As if you’d actually be able to wait.” He shook his head. “Gonna ride you,” he warned Spock. Leonard straddled him with ease, using a second lube packet to ready himself. His brow was furrowed and sweat was beginning to bead on his chest. Spock could feel Leonard’s impatience where his knees were tight on Spock’s sides. This hurried and hissing Leonard was a far cry from the normally, languid way Leonard stretched himself. Leonard would tease for ages, forcing them to watch. Sometimes waiting until Jim begged. 

“You feel it,” Spock said with wonder. 

Jim saddled up behind Leonard, pressing his fingers in alongside Leonard’s to help. They met one another in a searing kiss. “Bones, are you sure? I can take him again. I’m ready.” Jim trailed kisses on Leonard’s shoulder. From the jerk and moan of Leonard’s body, Spock knew Jim was crooking his fingers. 

Leonard shook his head. He slid his fingers free, dropping both hands onto Spock’s chest. Frantically, he swirled his hips. “Need him, Jim,” he gasped. 

The admission flayed Spock to his core. 

He snarled. His control snapped. In a whirlwind, Jim’s hands were suddenly elsewhere and Leonard’s head was thrown back. Spock was seated deep within Leonard. His hands were vices at Leonard’s hips. “Mine,” he promised to Leonard, slotting his hands under Leonard’s ass to hold him up. In the space between them, he fucked long and hard into Leonard. 

Jim moved as soon as the growls became thick with need and not aggression. “Oh, Bones,” he moaned, wrapping a hand around Leonard’s cock and biting at a hard, pink nipple. 

Leonard canted forward into Jim’s touch, crying out as Spock followed his movements dutifully. “This doesn’t count,” he managed to huff at Spock. “You’re still fucking me. Let me do something.” 

“Bossy,” Jim said fondly. 

“You’re next.”

Jim grinned, sliding his hand down to tug gently at Leonard’s balls. “Hope so. Feel like I’m burning up. Need it so bad.” He pressed his free hand to the edge of where Spock drove endlessly into Leonard. “Fuck.”

Spock growled. “You feel it,” he said again though his focus was a fragment.

“I’d feel something if you’d let me fuck myself onto your weird alien di—” Leonard sucked in a sharp breath as Spock let him go, gravity driving Spock hard and deep into him. There was a short pause where Leonard trembled, back arched, and Jim held his fingers in a tight circle at the base of Leonard’s cock. “Damnation,” Leonard finally gasped. He lifted himself experimentally, letting Spock sink back into him agonizingly slow.   
It took a moment for Leonard to settle into quick, short bounces. 

Jim leaned closer, letting Leonard’s cock fuck into the ring of his fingers. He whispered in Leonard’s ear. Sweet nothings, half promises of what Jim would do to him next time. 

The fire in Spock caught spark and grew again. He gripped Leonard’s wrist and caught Jim’s elbow. _Meld with me. Bond with me. Let me be yours forever._

Leonard shuddered, pressing himself down on Spock’s swelling knot until they locked together. His groan was long and pained. “Jim?” He asked, looking for those bright blue eyes. 

Their thoughts were riotous where Spock gripped them. But Jim’s kiss to Leonard was confident and unhurried. “I love you, Bones. I’m right here. Every step of the way,” Jim whispered. He gave Leonard’s cock a firm squeeze and Leonard groaned, clenching down involuntarily on Spock. 

“Jim,” Spock rumbled in warning. 

“And you, Spock, I’ve been waiting for you to bond with me since Ambassador Spock melded with me.” Jim extracted his hand from Leonard. He licked the precum from his palm. “It’s about time.” 

Spock let Jim’s elbow go to caress the meld points on his face. _I love you_ , he thought because his spoken words had become garbled Vulcan again, reduced to snarls and hard thrusts into Leonard. _Let me._

With a sound near a sob, Leonard leaned down for Spock to find his meld points. 

Jim smiled, leaning into Spock’s touch. “Yes.”

It took only a moment to fall into them again. Their thoughts exploded around him, a furor of colors and ideas and emotions scattered like colored glass in a kaleidoscope. There were few things discernible in the madness. Love was thick in their minds, shared and passed between them until it was too much. Hunger and heat roared alongside it. Spock could _feel_ the sympathetic response their bodies were conjuring in response to his Pon Farr. They burned as he did, needed this as he did. 

He both felt his knot pulse in Leonard and felt his own knot as if it were inside him. 

The bond snapped into place with little prompting, as if it had been there all along. It thrummed in time with their desynchronous heartbeats.   
Spock broke the meld, taking both their hands in hasty kisses as his orgasm overtook him. 

“Fuck, fuck,” Leonard chanted above him. His knees clamped down hard on either side of Spock. He gripped his cock, painting Spock’s thick chest hair in cum. 

Jim sucked in a sharp breath, riding out his own orgasm beside them, untouched.

Spock’s heat abated, his body feeling chilled and tight in the aftermath. Only where Jim or Leonard touched him was still alive with warmth. “My Pon Farr is satisfied,” he informed them both. He kept their hands in his own. The sparks of their small Vulcan kisses soothed him. 

The silence lasted for all of five minutes. 

Regaining control of his limbs, Jim cleared his throat and squirmed to lay against Spock’s side. “I have literally never come from a telepathic connection.” 

Leonard huffed, still bracing himself up with one hand. “It was so quiet for a minute there. I half-hoped you’d fallen back asleep to give us some peace.” His bone weary exhaustion was bitter over the bond but the knot would not let him free just yet. His mood was light, despite his exhaustion. He caught Spock’s eye and smirked. “D’ya catch that, Jimmy? I satisfied the Pon Farr.”

Jim kicked half-heartedly at Leonard’s thigh. “I mean, I’m the only who let him meld us. Someone looked at me for the decision and all. I think you can thank me for a satisfied Spock.” 

“It was my ass on the line. Besides, had to make you responsible for something in this relationship.” 

“I’m a starship captain. I’m responsible for tons of stuff. And, if it weren’t for me saving the _Enterprise_ from Nero, we wouldn’t be doing this right now!”

Spock sighed. 

“Sure,” Leonard answered with a snort and Jim stared at him slacked jaw. “What?”

“You’re feeling fond. I can feel you feeling,” Jim said in a hush, like it was a world-altering revelation. Like it was some heavenly gift. Spock bit back a smile but Jim swiveled toward him. Leonard looked at him just as quickly. “I can feel that too. Amusement! Spock, fuck. Is this the bond?”

“Yes, Jim,” Spock said, patting Leonard’s knee. “The knot has gone down.” 

Leonard slipped sideways with a grunt. “God, I’m not as young as I used to be. My poor knees.” He winced and stood from the bed. 

Spock growled when he spotted cum leaking from him. 

“Fuck.” Jim grinned. “I felt that too. Hey, Bones, let’s take a sonic together and see how much we can make Spock feel over the bond before he feels the ghost of Pon Farr past.” He crawled over Spock to get off the bed, grabbing Leonard’s hand. Their banter continued all the way to the bathroom. 

Spock rolled over, burying his face into the bed and making a mess of the sheets. 

The bed was warm. The smell of Leonard’s aftershave and Jim’s cologne mixed with sweat and sex. In a few hours, Spock would take on alpha shift once more. He wondered how the other Jim and Leonard had greeted their Spock. Had there been tears and kisses? Declaractions? It felt like a far away fear now, his doubt that his t’hy’la would not love him. It felt obvious now, the bond pulsing with the emotion.

He joined them in the bath. 

Spock had never been able to resist their pull.


End file.
